New Study May Provide Hope for a Stretch-Mark Cure

We've got retinol to smooth out fine lines, kojic acid to lighten dark spots, and alpha hydroxy acids to give us more even, radiant skin. But can anything actually diminish stretch marks (or striae distensae, as they're known in official medical jargon)?

"Nothing works. Let's start with that," says Jeannette Graf, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. When skin is stretched faster than it can handle—say, when you're pregnant or go through an adolescent growth spurt—its elastic tissue can break, causing the marks. And once you've got them, you're pretty much stuck. "Sometimes people will use Fraxel [lasers] or certain resurfacing treatments to try to shrink or minimize them," says Graf. "It might work temporarily, but it doesn't last."

Now before we go full-on Debbie Downer, there's hope: For the first time, a study has attempted to zero in on a genetic basis for stretch marks. "Everything is genetic," says Graf—so the research, conducted by genetics company 23andMe, could eventually lead to a cure. "Once you can identify a gene, then you can interfere with it," she says, "and there are certain technologies that will hopefully allow us to do that."

But don't get too excited just yet: "It's superearly," says Graf. Still, we'd like to think that someday stretch marks will be as easy to erase—or even prevent—as sun spots. Until then, we can all work on self-acceptance—and our self-tanning technique (a subtle, matte bronze can make the marks less noticeable).